IPL-7 to be muted in India leg

BCCI secretary, Sanjay Patel, has said that 2014 is such a phase of the IPL cycle that business would remain at one of its lowest levels

The Indian Premier League (IPL) returned to India on Friday, but the buzz around the tournament, which started in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on April 16, is missing. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and IPL team franchises have decided to keep above-the-line (ATL) activities and marketing gigs out of the picture.

According to BCCI Secretary Sanjay Patel, business would remain at one of its lowest levels in 2014. “Every property comes face-to-face with such a cyclical downturn. This has been once such year for IPL, but things would be pick up once this part of the cycle is over,” he said, adding that team franchises, too, are in tune with this move and are keeping off-the-field activity at its lowest.

Usually, a lot of money rides via the television commercials to separate franchise videos coupled with many marketing gigs. Team franchises also get involved in merchandise sales and all these activities chip in as an additional source of revenue.

According to sources, some of the ad spots for the second phase of the tournament are yet to be sold off and rates are being negotiated.

The first phase, too, was a dampener. Owing to rising costs, it was held outside India. Business has been impacted with a forecast of lower revenue on an overall basis at the end of the tournament. Going by the filings of most of the team franchises, they are yet to record profits and are forced to keep spends under tight scrutiny.

While the tournament broadcaster has come up with its usual theme song for the seventh edition of the cricketing extravaganza, the usual buzz in social media is also not being felt yet. During the earlier editions, many off-the-field cricket trivia and soft ATL activities found place in social media, giving a boost to brand IPL.

“The scenario has changed. Stakeholders' first priority has become to save margins as much as possible and making profit has taken a back seat. All eyes are now on the Indian phase of the

IPL and if it can gather some steam to provide a lift to the sentiments,” said a member of the IPL governing council.

Although not decided yet, some of the franchises have been toying with the idea of charging higher ticket prices for the second phase of IPL, in order to make up for the spends in the UAE. Teams have been allowed to set their own rates for stadium tickets and some team owners might choose to raise prices to make up for the loss of revenue. Usually, about 40 per cent of game-day revenue for a franchisee comes from stadium ticket sales.